The 500 were sent to the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates [UAE] by fake recruitment agencies for non existing jobs.

[contextly_sidebar id=”zCSOMn5ENqiDxVHz8NmAu92FNqXt2wYn”]Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, however said government is collaborating with authorities in the UAE to repatriate them.

The Minister further indicated that government is working closely with the security agencies to arrest owners and managers of the fake recruitment agencies that only end up exploiting the desperate job seekers.

“As we speak 500 young Ghanaians have been left stranded in Dubai and do not know what to do. The security agencies are tracking  down these recruitment agencies as well as travel and tour companies who are doing this to these young people. These agencies manage to secure only tourism visas for these young people which expires after three months. They charge them between 8,000 and 15,000 cedis to secure them these visas.’’

‘Ban on labour export still in force’

Mustapha Hamid also reiterated that the ban on the export of labour to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is still in force, adding that government will do all it can to enforce the ban.

‘’Let me emphasize that the ban on the exportation of labour to the Gulf is still in force and the security agencies will not hesitate to apply it..’’

There have been several reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of Ghanaians who usually take up jobs as maids and nannies not only in the UAE, but other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Libya.

Over 800 Ghanaians in Saudi Arabia return home

In 2017, about 800 Ghanaian migrants living in Saudi Arabia illegally turned themselves in at Ghana’s mission there to be deported.

This followed a three-month amnesty granted illegal residents by the Saudi government to leave or be sanctioned.

Over 500 Ghanaians to be repatriated from Saudi Arabia

The Ghana Embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in May 2017 appealed to Ghanaians living in Saudi Arabia without residency and work permits to take advantage of a package by the Embassy to return them to Ghana.

Ghana’s mission at the time said over 500 people applied voluntarily to be repatriated.

This was because Saudi Arabia announced a 90-day amnesty for persons living in that country illegally who wished to return to their countries of origin as part of the Kingdom’s “A Nation Without Illegal Expatriates” campaign.

Reversing illegal migration’

President Nana Akufo-Addo has vowed to reverse the trend of illegal migration by Ghanaians, by building a sound economy with opportunities for all.

In an address at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, the President stated that it was inappropriate for any Ghanaian to go through the life threatening ordeal of an immigrant.

“There have always been adventurous Ghanaians who would go out and try their luck in other parts of the world but the periods of economic collapse turned our country into places of wholesale emigration,” the President noted.

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By: Sammi Wiafe/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This revelation comes months after some 127 Ghanaian detainees were rescued from Libya, following reports that Africans there had been subjected to inhumane treatment after giving away their life’s earnings, to make the torturous journeys through the Sahara, hoping to make it big in Europe.

‘Staggering statistics’

The IOM’s report also ranked Ghana as one of the countries with the highest number of illegal migrants in Libya.

Out of the 12 countries ranked, Ghana came 5th with a total of 31, 251 migrants in Libya, followed by Nigeria which had a total of 29,605 migrants, and Mali with 24, 105 migrants.

Niger topped the list of countries with 78,723 migrants followed by Egypt, which had a total of 78,616 migrants in Libya.

[contextly_sidebar id=”xq9uQQnO6aY7HgLwvyM912uqm1s6kgWP”]The trend of illegal migration according to some experts, is increasingly becoming a national security concern in Ghana hence the need for firm acts to address it.

Reports have indicated that, since 2014, more than 400,000 African migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.

The IOM’s report also indicated that, about 15,000 deaths had been recorded globally since 2014 as a result of illegal migration.

However in 2016, the number reduced to 5,143, and further decreased to 3,116 in 2017.

Despite these staggering figures, the IOM has indicated that, the actual number of deaths recorded through illegal migration far exceeds reported figures.

In a bid to address the problem, the Project Manager at IOM’s Indonesia Branch, Paul Dillon, indicated at a media workshop in Accra, that the Organisation has been working in tandem with other stakeholders to roll out policies that will permanently address the problem.

Under its action programme called the “joint response”, the IOM seeks to :

• Evacuate detention centres

• Bring migrants to safety

• Offer alternatives to irregular migration

• Reintegrate returnees back home

• Include communities of origin

‘Reversing illegal migration’

President Nana Akufo-Addo had vowed to reverse the trend of illegal migration by Ghanaians, by building a sound economy with opportunities for all.

In an address at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, the President stated that it was inappropriate for any Ghanaian to go through the life threatening ordeal of an immigrant.

“There have always been adventurous Ghanaians who would go out and try their luck in other parts of the world but the periods of economic collapse turned our country into places of wholesale emigration,” the President noted.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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Dozens of others might still be missing, the Spanish rescue charity Proactiva Open Arms said.

It is believed to be the first sinking of a migrant boat in the Mediterranean in 2018.

The sea crossing to Europe is the deadliest route in the world for migrants, the UN says.

Nearly 34,000 migrants have drowned or gone missing in the waters since 2000, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration.

The German charity Sea-Watch said at least 25 people had died but numbers were still unclear. One of its boats was on the way to the scene north of Tripoli, it added.

Proactiva Open Arms said many of those rescued had spent hours in the water.

The coastguard said the partly submerged dinghy was spotted by a surveillance aircraft engaged in the EU’s Operation Sophia, which aims to intercept boats engaged in people smuggling.

“The search continues for survivors,” it added.

In 2017 nearly 3,000 migrants were believed to have drowned while trying to cross the Mediterranean.

On Friday, the EU’s border management agency, Frontex, said the numbers of migrants travelling to Europe illegally last year dropped 60% to 204,300.

The numbers travelling to Italy was 119,000 – 34% fewer than 2016, Frontex said.

The drop was due to improved border controls, the agency added.

The EU saw record levels of asylum seekers arriving in 2016 but the numbers have fallen since a deal with Turkey stemmed the influx of those crossing into Greece.

–

Source: BBC

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These Ghanaians and some other black Africans were reported to have been subjected to inhumane treatment after giving away their life’s earnings and making torturous journeys through the Sahara hoping to make it big in Europe.

Two chartered flights full of Ghanaians touched down at the Kotoka International Airport on Wednesday night.

Citi News’ Caleb Kudah and Philip Nii Lartey who kept vigil to interact with the returnees, reported that “after touching down around 9.45pm, the returnees spent extra three hours going through immigration formalities.”

One of them passed out in the process, and was whisked to the Airport hospital for medical attention.

They were spotted in uniformed cardigan like sports men ready for a match, only that they did not look fit enough.

For some of them, it was as if a thin sheet of skin was drawn over their skeletons with bushy hair and mustache. They looked starved, and the sight of home with food at last, was a huge relief.

Some gave their lifetime savings to ‘connection men’, hoping to make a fortune once they get to Libya or Italy.

Some spent as much as 3,000 dollars, but they returned with nothing except with dehumanizing experiences  from their fellow human beings in a foreign land.

Recounting his experience, one of the returnees said: “The food that they were giving us did not satisfy us. They use to beat us. The treatment is very bad”

The returnees negated claims by the Foreign Affairs Ministry that no Ghanaian was sold into slavery, saying “they sold most of them, but I was not sold.”

Surprisingly, not only youthful Ghanaians largely in their 20s were aboard the two chartered flights.

The Country Director for International Organisation for Migration in Ghana, Sylvia Lopez, revealed that “there were two children” who joined the returnees to Ghana.

Though Sylvia is unable to tell how many more Ghanaians are still in Libya, she is certain several hundreds still need to be rescued.

“There is a substantial number of people and considering the situation in Libya at the moment; the difficult living conditions in the detention centres, we really are in a humanitarian crisis situation, and it is extremely important to get these people out of Libya as soon as possible. “

Make Libya crisis a priority – African leaders told

In a related development, deliberations at the ongoing EU-AU summit in Ivory Coast has been dominated by discussions on the happenings in Libya.

Leaders from European and African nations have all condemned reports of the slave trade in Libya, and have called for an end to the practice.

The President of the European Union, Donald Tusk, in his presentation on the development, tasked African leaders to do more to resolve the problem.

“The recent reports about the treatment of Africans, especially young people by smugglers and traffickers are horrifying. Over 500 people drowned in the Mediterranean. We cannot accept this and we also cannot accept the narrative that Africa and Europe are against each other.”

“The worst we can do is to start the blame game. What we need now are common solutions and a stronger cooperation to save lives, protect people and allow them to live in dignity.  The above remarks also apply to the current situation in Libya which needs from our sides; both European and African, our help, not our condemnation.”

Foreign Affairs Committee to brief Parliament on crisis 

Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye, has directed the Foreign Affairs Committee of the house to liaise with the Foreign Affairs Ministry to ensure the sector Minister briefs the house urgently on the situation with Ghanaians in Libya.

The directive follows deliberations on the development in Parliament on Wednesday.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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It comes in the wake of a video, released by CNN last week, showing men being auctioned off as farm workers.

“Given our own history… we cannot remain silent when human beings are being mistreated and auctioned off like cattle,” the foreign ministry said.

Hundreds of thousands of Africans travel through Libya every year as they try to make their way to Europe.

They are often held by smugglers and forced to work for little or no money.

During Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutu were massacred in 100 days while most countries did little to help.

“Rwanda, like the rest of the world, was horrified by the images of the tragedy currently unfolding in Libya, where African men, women and children who were on the road to exile, have been held and turned into slaves,” the foreign ministry statement said.

Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said Rwanda was a small country but it would find space.

She told the pro-government New Times newspaper that Rwanda was in talks with African Union (AU) Commission to determine how to intervene and resettle them.

“What I expect and know is that Rwandans will welcome these people. As Rwandans we are sensitive to people who are helpless and have no way of protecting themselves. It is something that is deep in ourselves, we take pride in human beings,” the paper quotes her as saying.

The minister also said negotiations were also continuing with Israel about accommodating African migrants seeking asylum there.

Last week, the AU expressed outrage after the footage emerged appearing to show slave markets in Libya.

Youths from Niger and other sub-Saharan countries were seen being sold to buyers for about $400 (£300) at undisclosed locations in Libya.

In April, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it had gathered evidence of slavery in Libya.

Smugglers hold migrants for ransom and if their families could not pay, they were sold off at different prices depending on their qualifications, an IOM official in Libya said.

–

Source: BBC

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A group of 75 set out in three vehicles but were abandoned by traffickers, who feared the security forces.

A local official told the BBC that dozens of bodies had been buried, and 23 survivors were taken to the town, although one later died.

African migrants travel through the desert aiming to reach Libya and cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

However, the journey is perilous as the migrants are crammed into pick-up trucks and have few supplies.

Two weeks ago Niger troops rescued 92 migrants who were on the brink of death in the Sahara Desert.

The group, which included women and children, was abandoned without water and food.

–

Source: BBC

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Speaking at a media training workshop at the Centre for Migration Studies in Accra on Thursday, Director of the consortium, Professor Mariama Awumbila, explained that “often we see migration as something negative, but the research has pointed out that in some circumstances migration can have a positive impact.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”vDRmJkIDwxa6VZtUdbeQ1VIyqhSPNxEL”]“With these positive impacts in mind, what we all have to do is to focus on how we can enhance the benefits of migration, while reducing the risk and cost of migration. We know that migration has negative parts, but how do we enhance the more positive parts as a country”.

According to her, the research also pointed to the fact that, remittance is one of the positive associations between migration and the improvement of the socio-economic well-being of migrants and their families. In this area, the research showed that women migrants were remitting more than men.

The research, which started in 2015, focused on migrants from Volta, Central, Brong-Ahafo and the three Northern Regions. The main aim of the research was to find the relationship between migration and poverty, and how migration can be used as a strategy for poverty reduction in Ghana.

Placing much emphasis on migrants from the three Northern Regions, Professor Awumbila said migration has enhanced the lives of their households back in the North.

“This was one of the key findings which proved that migration can bring about some economic and social benefit even though it also has some sort of negative benefits”.

In an interview with citifmonline.com, Professor Awumbila noted that, after the research, her outfit found out that, when people move from the rural areas to the urban areas, they mostly get involved in low paid vicarious sectors such as domestic and construction work.

Another key area the research highlighted on was the services some recruitment agencies offered for migrants. Surprisingly, the research showed that a lot of these recruitment agencies do in fact help the domestic workers when they move to Accra.

“Often, the literature sees recruitment agencies as very bad people, but our research proved otherwise. I think that as a country the best we can do is to regulate these industries so that they can perform a more positive role” she added.

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By: Naa Kwaamah Siaw-Marfo/Citifmonline.com/Ghana

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More than 2,000 people were rescued on Friday and 3,000 on Saturday in dozens of separate rescues, the Italian Coast Guard said.

But at least seven people drowned as aid workers struggled to rescue more than 1,500 migrants in one operation.

An eight-year-old boy was among the dead, rescue workers said.

An earlier agency report said 20 bodies had been recovered by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (Moas), but this was later corrected.

Moas said its rescue started in the early hours of Saturday and had continued non-stop into Sunday afternoon.

The group said it had rescued at least 453 people, but more than 1,000 remained in danger.

Chris Catrambone, one of the founders of Moas, said it had requested “urgent assistance” on Saturday morning.

“Our crew says they’ve never seen anything like it,” the organisation tweeted.

Italian NGO Sea Eye and the German group Jugend Rettet were also aiding the rescue attempt.

Doctors without Borders (MSF) said its rescue boats Prudence and Aquarius had rescued about 1,000 people during Friday’s operations, during which one migrant is believed to have died.

The improving Spring weather may have factored into the sudden surge of ocean crossings.

The Libyan coastline remains a hotspot for such rescues, as unscrupulous smugglers crowd wooden boats or inflatable dinghies with hundreds of desperate migrants.

At least 97 migrants died the previous Thursday, when their boat sank. Just 23 men were rescued, clinging to a flotation device. In late February, the bodies of 87 people washed ashore in a Libyan city.

Although the Mediterranean migrant crisis has subsided from its 2015 peak, the Libyan trafficking situation prompted EU leaders to agree a plan of action.

They gave €200m (£170m) to Libya’s UN-backed government to reinforce its coastguard and disrupt the people-smuggling networks.

But that government has limited control over the largely lawless strife-torn nation, and human rights groups argue that turning refugees away and forcing them back to the dangers of Libya is unacceptable.

The United Nations estimates that 32,750 people have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year, despite the dangerous winter weather. An estimated 826 are dead, or missing.

–

Source: BBC

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Proactiva Open Arms said it had recovered five bodies floating near two capsized boats, which can each hold more than 100 people.

The group’s Laura Lanuza said the five they pulled from the Mediterranean were young men who appeared to have drowned.

A spokesman for Italy’s coast guard, which co-ordinates rescues, confirmed the five deaths.

But he told the BBC that they could not confirm the estimates of deaths given by Proactiva, and said they had received no distress calls from any boats.

Ms Lanuza said at least 240 migrants may have died as the boats were often overloaded by smugglers.

“We brought on board five corpses recovered from the sea, but no lives,” the group wrote on its Facebook page.

“It is a harsh reality check of the suffering here that is invisible in Europe.”

Numbers of migrants trying to reach Europe from Libya via Italy have risen dramatically this year since the route between Turkey and Greece was effectively shut down.

The Italian coast guard said they had co-ordinated more than 40 rescue operations in the last few days.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says more than 20,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year – and some 559 people are estimated to have died or gone missing en route.

This compares with fewer than 19,000 arrivals in Italy and about 350 deaths in the first three months of 2016.

“We have yet to complete March, and we are already racing at a pace of arrivals that has exceeded anything we’ve seen before in the Mediterranean,” IOM spokesman Joel Millman said earlier this week.

“This is typical of spring, getting very busy, but it’s not typical to have the numbers be so high this early and the corresponding deaths that go with it.”

–

Source: BBC

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A total of 560 people were injured in the violence, including 43 children.

Three-quarters of the attacks targeted migrants outside of their accommodation, while nearly 1,000 attacks were on housing.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to open up Germany to people fleeing conflict and persecution has polarised the country and boosted hate crime.

Germany is struggling with a backlog of asylum applications and there are fears about security following a series of terrorist attacks across Europe.

But the number of asylum seekers arriving in Germany in 2016 was 280,000, a drop of more than 600,000 from the previous year, following the closure of the Balkan migrant route and an EU deal with Turkey.

The issue is expected to feature heavily in parliamentary elections this September.

Sunday’s interior ministry figures, which are preliminary, were released in response to a parliamentary question.

There was no comparison with previous years because attacks against individual migrants only started to be counted as a separate category in 2016.

In its statement, the interior ministry said it strongly condemned the violence.

“People who have fled their home country and seek protection in Germany have the right to expect safe shelter,” the statement read.

MP Ulla Jelpke from the leftist Die Linke party said that the government was too focused on a perceived security threat from migrants while the real threat was coming from the far right.

“Do people have to die before the rightwing violence is considered a central domestic security problem and makes it to the top of the national policy agenda?” she said, quoted by the Funke media group.
“Nazis are threatening refugees and therefore our democracy.”

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Source: BBC

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